


In Bed

by camichats



Category: Marvel
Genre: Asexual Natasha Romanov, Asexuality Spectrum, Communication, Established Relationship, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Insecurity, Naked Cuddling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-29 01:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20074237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Natasha is asexual, and the conversation with Tony could have happened a little sooner or been a little easier, but at least it happened.





	In Bed

**Author's Note:**

> Natasha is ace and she has sex with Tony while not being super into it (not explicit), so fair warning

Natasha was known for being observant, and Tony was too. She'd stopped deeming it necessary to pay so much attention around the team, and Tony had done the same. They had more in common than everyone had thought at first glance, but by the time they got together, it wasn't a surprise to anyone on the team-- the public was another story, but who cared about them? Anyways, that was the reasoning Tony used when he thought back on this: he'd been so comfortable in their budding relationship that Natasha would tell him if he did something entirely wrong, so he didn't need to pay as much attention as he would at a Board Meeting or something. 

They went from friends to living together within a week, and Tony kept his insecurities to himself. Natasha was with him, she knew all his flaws better than everyone except Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy. It didn't occur to him that Natasha was feeling similarly insecure. What did she have to worry about? She was young, fucking gorgeous, funny, and a hell of a teammate. But Tony knew that he was ten years older than her and officially considered middle aged, not to mention that he wasn't in the best of condition with the arc reactor in his chest and zero healing factor. He knew that he was damn lucky she was with him, and he did his best to keep her happy. It was different from his attempts to keep both Rhodey and Pepper happy back when they'd been dating, but he thought he was doing a pretty good job of it. Until right now. 

"What's wrong?" he asked. He was laying on his back because it was the only way he could breathe properly while sleeping, but he had his head turned to look at her. He thought things were fine, but instead of laying back down after using the bathroom to go to sleep, she laid down then sat back up, putting her legs over the side of the bed like she was planning to leave. 

"Just feeling restless," she said, but her hand was shaking when she took it off the bed to rub at her eyes. 

Tony stayed still for a moment, wondering if he should leave it be and approach her tomorrow, when they were both less vulnerable. He sat up and tentatively put a hand between her shoulder blades. At first, it was just a touch of fingertips, then it spiderwebbed until his palm was flat against her skin. Like him, she had scars. Little nicks and scratches accumulated over the years, and one of the reasons he'd kept his insecurities about his body to himself. Touching her like this made the tremors more obvious; he hadn't been able to see it, but he could feel it all now. "You can talk to me," he said quietly. 

"Do you like sex?" she asked suddenly, and Tony blinked. 

"I mean, yeah? Why? Did I not seem like I was enjoying it just now?" 

Natasha sighed. "It's not that. I... enjoy what we do. You always make me feel good." 

"But you don't like it." 

"I don't mind it." 

"That's not the same thing. We don't have to do it, you know." 

"But you like it. And it's not like I hate it, so why would we stop?" 

"Because you _ don't like it_." Tony had to do some awkward shuffling to sit beside her, but it was a better position to be having this conversation in. The bed sunk under their combined weight, pressing their bare skin together from knee to shoulder. "Thinking about _ only _ what you want, not me, not what anybody else wants or thinks about you, do you want to have sex?" 

She was quiet for a long moment, but Tony knew the answer before she answered; it was already clear how she felt about it. "No," she admitted. "I mean, maybe sometimes, but not every week." She wrinkled her nose and added, "Or month." 

"Then we don't have to." 

"But you like it," she said again, as if that was a good argument. 

"I like it fine, but it's not like my brain's gonna shut down if I don't have sex for the rest of my life. Besides, I've been around enough that any fantasies I've had have been thoroughly fulfilled." 

"So... you don't care?" she asked tentatively. 

"Nope." 

Natasha turned and hugged him. "Thanks," she said softly. 

Tony hugged her back. Her chest was pressed against him like this, and it wasn't sexual in the slightest. He smiled serenely. "Not a problem. Can we go to sleep now?" 


End file.
